Travis Kelce seemingly has everything in the world, including Taylor Swift as his girlfriend.
But on the football field, one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history has been historically off through three games.
GettyKelce has a different look in 2024 and his numbers have also been off target[/caption]
The good news for Kelce is that Patrick Mahomes is his quarterback, and the reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs have started a new season 3-0.
But after being shadowed by retirement rumors this offseason while traveling the world following Swift around, the 34-year-old star might finally be slowing down between the lines.
Kelce only has 69 receiving yards through three games, while his 8.6 yards-per-catch is a career low.
The Chiefs are still winning with Kelce barely contributing to the passing game.
But with tough road games at the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers on the horizon, Kansas City will need vintage Kelce sooner than later — even if he’s being double-teamed, as Mahomes has suggested.
“What’s wrong with Kelce?” was debated on the latest episode of talkSPORT’s NFL End Zone show.
“Travis Kelce, three weeks into the season, looking incredibly old, incredibly slow,” host Will Gavin said.
Kelce also started slow last season, then became a game-changer in the playoffs.
The nine-time Pro Bowler caught 93 passes during the regular season, yet he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015 and his 10.6 YPC was a career low.
It’s a possibility that Kelce enjoys a similar turnaround in 2024, although his age is starting to count against him.
Patrick Mahomes has struggled to connect with Kelce through three games
Taylor Swift and Kelce were often in the public eye this summer
“He had more catches and more targets in Week 3 and I think that was important,” Gavin said.
“Maybe getting him into a rhythm. And maybe they think about him, he’s a guy who we don’t care if he performs in September through December, as long as like he did last season, he turns up in January and turns up big.
“Maybe that’s what he does again. But, right now, Travis Kelce isn’t good at football, which is the first time you’ve been able to say that for a decade.”
From 2016-22, Kelce annually broke 1,000 receiving yards.
He was a third-round draft pick out of Cincinnati and is the younger brother of Jason, the former Philadelphia Eagles star center who now appears on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
Kelce answered a down year in 2023 with a superb playoff run, catching 32 passes for 355 yards (11.1 YPC) and three touchdowns.
He became so fired up during an overtime Super Bowl win over the 49ers in Las Vegas that Kelce got in the face of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, then later apologized for going too far.
Getting more out of the 34-year-old Kelce is critical for the Chiefs in 2024, as they attempt to pull off the first Super Bowl trophy three-peat in NFL history while dealing with key injuries on offense.
“He was always going to come back and try the three-peat,” Gavin said. “There’s no way that you don’t go back and try.”
Trying is one thing.
Through three games of the new NFL season, doing has been a whole different game for Kelce.
